Yes, e-commerce is a strange situation for an old guy like me. You can buy a TV online, OK, but to buy a dress or shoes? Ugh. The customer has to go back to the store and breathe and smell and have a good time. Because shopping is a good time - like going to a nice restaurant.
When I opened Chanel in London, they were happy. People would go, 'Oh, I just came in to see it. It's so beautiful.' And you leave with a positive attitude toward the brand. Now, you don't really get that online. You don't go, like, 'Wow.'
Traditional local advertising is not what retailers want. They want not just for you to see an ad - they want you to come into the store, to be a repeat customer and to spread the word.
I quite frankly enjoy the touch and feel of a store, so I am a big bookshop person. Or, I go to an electronics store; Best Buy and Croma are places I could spend a lot of time in.
Sephora is a mecca for cosmetics, and it supports what I enjoy: You go into the store, and touch it, and try it, and love it. I've never bought anything on the Internet. I like experience.
It's hard for us in our stores to be a leader in technology.
Sephora's business is really smart and clever - I'm all for anything that gets people up and out and into the social experience of shopping.
There's definitely a role for online booksellers, but they can't host events, bring people together, and form a personal relationship in the way a bricks-and-mortar store and its staff can.
I go to Amazon to browse for things I can then go find at the mall. It's like window shopping online. I want to touch the things that I buy. I am the kid who still likes actual books, bookstores, and libraries.
Until Amazon creates a drone that can cut your hair, there's a physical and real reason to come to the store.
Despite the fact that Starbucks has grown to be a large company. We've always played music in our stores and has always acted as an opportunity to create a mood in our stores. And customers started asking, "What song are you playing and can I buy that?" . And we said "No." And that was kind of the catalyst for beginning to look at music. We started out with our own compilations and after the success of that. We had the courage to say, "Let's produce our own record." and the first record was with Ray Charles before he unfortunately passed away.
It's fun to buy make-up online. It's even more fun to go into a store and buy it.
Some analysts think people come into our shops and then go and buy the product on the Internet, but the manufacturer knows if the customer can't see the product and assess it, they won't buy.
Some things look better inside of the store.
I think bookstore browsing will become more cherished as time goes on because it can't be replicated virtually.
I love the grocery store. I would never have my groceries delivered.
I try not to always use self-check-out and things like that!
Experience is going to be even more important than it used to be - people will want to live something when they are in our stores, otherwise they'll just buy on their phones.
If I need a pair of tennis shorts, I'll buy them online. I don't really care. Not going to go and try on a pair and see how my bum looks. Who cares? But for things that you care about - I mean, a jacket and a pair of trousers, you've got to try them on.
